2022-03-31-accounts - 1st Marple Scout Group

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Registered Scout number: 10010395 Charity number: 512057

1[st] Marple Scout Group

TRUSTEES REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the year ended 31[st] March 2022

1[st] Marple Scout Group For the year ended 31[st] March 2022

Administrative details

Charity name 1[st] Marple Scout Group Registered Charity No 512057

Principle Address 1[st] Marple Scout Group Headquarters Memorial Park Marple Stockport, SK6 6BE

Charity Number 512057

Group Registration 10010395 Scout District Stockport District (Goyt until December 2018) Scout County Greater Manchester East

Trustees

Trustee Name Office Dr Richard Thorpe Chair David John Rainsbury FCA Treasurer Keith Frazer Group Administrator Judith Pauline Roberts Secretary

Address for Correspondence

2 Kings Drive Marple Stockport SK6 6NQ

Independent Reviewer

Tina Mcauley Chartered Certified Accountants

Principal Bankers

Barclays Bank and National Westminster Bank

Structure Governance and Management

Introduction

1[st] Marple Scouts was founded in 1908 and has existed on substantially the same site for 114 years. The Group was until late 2017 part of Goyt District Scout Council but was transferred into Stockport District Scout Council in January 2018. The change in District resulted in us changing how we present our accounts these changes were first reflected in the 2017/18 accounts.

The Group Executive

The Group is run by a Group Executive Committee. Collectively this group acts to further the group’s aims as an educational charity. The trustees of the charity are responsible for ensuring that all decisions made by the Group Executive Committee comply with the current legislation governing and applicable to charities whilst at the same time ensuring observance of the common rules, as set out in the Scout Association’s Policy Organisation and Rules (POR).

The Executive Committee consists of three non-uniformed, independent representatives – these being the Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. Uniformed members include, the Group Scout leader and Group Administrator, together with representatives from each of the eight sections (i.e. Beavers, Cubs and Scouts) as well as a representative for the two District Explorer Units that Marple Scouts host. In 2019 the Executive Committee re-elected two members and coopted another member. The executive also has a youth representative amongst it number.

The Executive undertakes the necessary training as recommended by the Scout Association and are familiar with Essential Information for Executive Committees.

The Executive committee meets approximately every three months and manages the administrative burden of the Group, including the Group’s finances; insurances; the setting of subscription rates; approving the annual accounts; fund raising, governance; health, safety and safeguarding matters; the maintenance of the Headquarters Building; relations with the public; the management of risk and the appointment of any advisors who might have specialist skills as appropriate.

Executive Committee	Members 2021
Richard Thorpe	– Group Chair Charity Trustee
David Rainsbury	- Group Treasurer Charity Trustee
Judith Roberts	- Group Secretary Charity Trustee
John Dawson	- Group Scout Leader
Keith Frazer	- Group Administrator Charity Trustee
Katy Spreckley	- Beaver section representative
Marina Grifth	- Cub section representative
Thomas Tognarelli	- Scout section representative
Paul Marshall	- Explorer section representative
Edward Spreckley	- Youth Representative
Stuart Jupe	- Elected member

John Spreckley - Co-opted member John Mills - Elected member Julian Taylor - Co-opted member George Brady - Network Representative Dan Hopwood - Parent Representative

Method of appointment and induction of Trustees

In early 2018, commensurate with the retirement and recruitment of a number of new officers 1[st] Marple Scout Group began a process of review, the first phase of this process is now nearing completion. One aspect of this focused-on governance, focused on refurbishing the scout headquarters in Memorial Park. The governance review has led to changes in the way our finances are reported and scrutinised, together with a review of the number and skill set of our trustees. Governance changes are ongoing and further changes will be reported in the 2021/2022 report to the Charity Commission. In relations to buildings, we have continued to secure grants to complete the refurbishment of the inside of the Scout Headquarters. These accounts show grants secured for the refurbishment of the floors in all parts of the building and the complete renovation of the kitchen.

Objectives

The objectives of the Group are as a branch of The Scout Association. The aim of The Scout Association is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, as individuals, as responsible citizens and as members of their local, national and international communities. The method of achieving the aim of the Association is by providing an enjoyable and attractive scheme of progressive training, based on the Scout Promise and Law and guided by adult leadership.

The Scouting Programme is provided to young people between the ages of 6 and 25. The Beaver Section covers the ages 6 to 8, Cubs cover 8 to 10 and a half, Scouts cover 10 and a half to 14, Explorers cover 14-to-18-year old’s (coordinated by the Scout District) and Network covers 18 to 25 year old’s (coordinated by the Scout County).

The Group meets the Charity Commission’s public benefit criteria under both the advancement of education and the advancement of citizenship or community development headings.

Review of Activities by the Group Scout Leader

This year saw a change in the role of Group Scout Leader. In 2021 Keith Frazer stepped down after nine years in the role. Keith Frazer contribution to Marple Scouts has been huge – giving 48 years dedicated service to the Group and still actively involved. It is certainly true that the Group wouldn’t be the success that it is today without his contribution and thanks are extended to him and the commitment and leadership he has shown over the years.

The year has again been an unusual one, dominated by the latter stages of the COVID pandemic. Even though the year has been a difficult one, as with the year

before it has brought out the best in people. It has for example demonstrated the generosity of our volunteers and seen them at their most resourceful, adaptable, and creative. This has also been true for the parents, members and carers who have always been supportive and working in difficult circumstances often invigorated what we do. Sometimes reflecting on the small changes that can be made in how we provide our program can make a big difference.

Unfortunately, yet again, our largest fundraising event of the year, the community bonfire had to be cancelled 2021 but the good news is that the 2022 community bonfire will go ahead. This year we will celebrate our 50th anniversary bonfire falling as it does this year on November 5[th] .

This calendar year Scouting has come back to life, emerging from the toughest of recent times and there is every indication that it has come back stronger. Our aim is that it continues long into the future and our ambition is to provide the Group with the resources for membership to expand in order that more young people in the local community have the opportunity to join in the activities delivered in our various sections.

When asked what we have been up to since the early part of the year the answer might well be - what haven't we – and we've seen the full return to faceto-face Scouting for all sections. They're as we reported last year, we did lose some members as a result of the pandemic, but at the time of this report we can now announce that returned to the numbers and levels of activity that we enjoyed before the pandemic. Of particular satisfaction is the fact that throughout the period we retained our complement of leaders, making our return to Scouting that much easier.

This calendar year, Beavers have been completing many challenges, the Cubs have been camping and the Scouts have been getting stuck into traditional scouting skills and Explorers taking part in adventurous activities.

One of the highlights of 2022 has been the return of Three Cheers Marple Gang Show. The venue as always was the Carver Theatre. It was wonderful to see everyone back together and thanks are due to everyone involved.

As we emerge from the pandemic is clearer than ever to see how important Scouting is in Marple and will continue to be, for young people, families, and the local communities in which we live.

We have seen a 38% increase in youth membership.

Beaver Scouts Cub Scouts Scouts Total Youth Members 201	31/01/2021	31/01/2022
	63 40 hip 146	43 60 78 63

Currently sections are led by 31 warranted leaders, assisted by occasional helpers, young leaders and parent helpers to which we are extremely grateful. Our executive comprises 15 individuals who work together to support the sections. These numbers don't include Explorer Scouts or Network members as

these are formally registered at District and County levels respectively. There are two Explorer Scout units attached to 1[st] Marple and one Network Section which meet on a weekly basis in Marple.

Buildings and Estates

We are pleased to announce that through the unwavering support of the group executive committee and building committee, we've been able to complete nearly all of our long-term plans in respect of refurbishing the Scout headquarters. Concluding these refurbishments has been the competition of an entirely new kitchen.

Training and Development

Judith Roberts and the County Training Team have continued to work incredibly hard throughout the year, often making use of virtual, hybrid and face-to-face training sessions, and other digital training resources to ensure that Leaders are able to keep their qualifications up to date. This year we have continued to focus on compliance issues so as to ensure that we are able to keep our young people safe – this remains at the heart of what we do.

Finances

We are pleased to be able to report that out finances are in good health shape. This is largely due to the dedication and hard work of our treasure David Rainsbury. David has always offered us his wise counsel and ensured that we are able to benefit from any Government schemes to which we are entitled. The healthy state of our finances even after such a difficult financial period speaks for itself.

Support from the District and County

We must also make note of the support and dedicated help we have enjoyed from firstly our District Commissioner Phil Sumner and his team and secondly from the County through our County Commissioner Steve Holloway and his team.

Conclusion

We currently have a strong and effective leadership team in all sections. But we are not complacent and recognize the need to plan ahead and encourage new leaders to come and join us. This will in turn ensure that the Group remains sustainable in the years to come, particularly when some of our long serving more established leaders retire from active service.

Lisa Bintliff is a case in point. She is in the process of stepping down as Beaver Scout leader. Lisa has provided fun activities for hundreds of young people aged 6 to 8 through the provision of a high-quality programme. We offer our thanks to Lisa for all the hard work she has done for 1[st] Marple and the Beavers over the years and in doing so, we know that her Beavers will be in the safe hands of Michelle Maryan as she takes over the leadership role. The executive in their turn will ensure that she receives all the support she needs.

Thank you again to all those who have helped Marple Scouts over this last year. Now that we are all active once again after some very difficult years we can now move forward with our plans to expand our programme of activities in the forthcoming year. Without the Leaders, Scouting simply couldn't remain so vibrant and successful as it is.

John Dawson – Group Scout leader

Awards and Achievements in the year

Silver Wolf

Keith Frazer

Keith received the Silver Wolf in 2022. He has previously held the roles below:

Assistant Section Leader
Group Venture leader
County Network Administrator
Group Scout Leader
Up to 2003 he was directly involved in the Gang Show and similarly with the Bonfire till 2019

Award of Merit

Katy Spreckley

Chief Scouts Commendation for Good Service

Ollie Hibbs Rob Roberts Debbie Spreckley Julian Taylor Joe Ward

Twenty Years Service

Tommy Tognarelli

Fifteen Years Service

Fallon Tognarelli

Ten Years Service

Debbie Spreckley Julian Taylor Tom Wood

Five Years Service

Rachel Bray Matthew Burnyeat Marina Griffin Alec Maryan Richard Thorpe David Rainsbury

Chairman’s Report

The period 2021 to 2022 continued to represent a challenge to leaders, members, parents and supporters, particularly in the early months of the year. It's easy to forget, now that things are more or less back to normal, just how uncertain things were and how difficult that period was like.

As in last year’s report it is important to record how grateful we were for the dedication of all those leaders who did what they could to keep in touch with and

run their sections in those extraordinary times. Given this, this report must begin with the same expression of gratitude as last year, even if, things weren't quite as difficult as they were the year before.

In 2020 – 21 we found ourselves still very much restricted in relation to those regular activities we normally take part in throughout the year. However, in this last year a number of our annual activities did take place.

From June in 2021 onwards there was a great deal of discussion about whether we might be able to host the annual community bonfire – our 50[th] . The everpresent risk of there being another lockdown and the financial implications of purchasing and storing fireworks that we might not use, together with the health risks of crowds gathering if there was an upsurge in inflections made us cancel this event for another year. In retrospect this prove to be the correct decision as the new Omicron variant did start to get more wide spread in the population in October.

The two-year gap that has taken place between bonfires has seen a number of the bonfire organisers retire and others move away. This has in turn led to the Joint Scout and Guide Bonfire Committee re-forming their delivery team and reassessing how the Bonfire might be organized. This reconstituted committee have met and are now well on the way to planning our 50[th] Scout and Guide Community Bonfire. Much will be the same but some new innovations will be instituted. For example, the next Bonfire will be cashless, eliminating the risks associated with handling cash at the gate. Also, the intention is to hire a professional company to oversee security in the park whilst the bonfire is in progress. It is important that we should thank all those that have taken active roles in the bonfire committee in the past and also to wish those who are part of the new committee every success. The bonfire is an important fund raising activity both for the Scouts and the Guides.

Whereas the bonfire didn't happen this last year, the Joint Scout and Guide Gang Show did. The year before, this event was cancelled on the Monday before the first performance was due to take place on the Thursday! Even though there had been a gap of two years since rehearsals took place the majority of the original 2020 cast, which had invested so much rehearsal time, were able to perform the show. Thanks are due to all those who made this year show a success, particularly Steve Spreckley for his work as director.

This last year we also managed to restart our plant sales fund raising activity. This year, and for the second year running this was managed by taking all electronic payments. The fact that the timing of plant sales came immediately after a period of lockdown meant that members of the public and voluntary helpers were able to enter the headquarters in groups in numbers greater than six, which had been the rule up until then. We need to thank all of those leaders who helped this years plant sales fund raising activity be the success it was.

Building

This year saw the completion of the kitchen and with it the end of the so-called ‘phase 1’ refurbishment plan for the scout headquarters. This ‘phase 1’ plan commenced over five years ago now and it is really exciting to see that it has now been concluded successfully. Completed this year were the floors in both halls, the Network Suite and finally the kitchen along with a number of smaller

jobs. Thanks are due to all members of the building subcommittee for planning and organizing for this work to be done as well as a range of charities, both local and national, which donated towards the costs of the refurbishment. For example, The New Mills Marple and District Rotary Club; the National Lottery Awards for all Scheme and generous donations closer to home from Marple Adventure Film Festival; the Marple Beer Run and a very a very generous legacy from someone who had benefitted from Scouting in Marple (Mrs Jean Buckley) and left a donation to the scouts in her will. ‘Phase 2’ of the project is now ongoing. This involves reroofing the hall and at the same time extending the stores. Plans have been discussed and quotations for the work have been sought. Unfortunately, what is preventing us commencing the work is Borough Council. They are waiting to finalise their plans for what they intend to do in respect to the swimming pool and they do not wish to make a decision on divesting themselves of 10 square meters of land until decisions are made in respect of the pool.

Overall, the year has been a successful one and numbers have now returned to the same levels they were pre-pandemic. None of what we have achieved, often in challenging circumstances would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Leaders, helpers and the Executive Committee and for this we owe them our thanks.

Richard Thorpe

Chair 1[st] Marple Scouts Executive Committee

Notes on the accounts 2021/2022

Based on the practice followed last year the Group accounts ending March 2020 have the receipts, expenditure and assets/liabilities from the individual units consolidated into the figures and 50% of the receipts, expenditure, assets/liabilities from the Gang Show and the Brabyns Community Bonfire (these being joint ventures with Marple Guides) have also being consolidated.

Note in relation to each line of Receipts

Membership Subscriptions. Subscriptions for members are paid into unit accounts and sections forward receipts to the Group for capitation payment to the District.

Gang Show. In normal periods this is an activity jointly organised with Marple Girl Guiding. Separate accounts are kept for the show by the Gang Show leadership team. These accounts are prepared with a year-end date of 31 December. The group accounts for 2021/22 reflect our 50% interest, however, due to the pandemic the Gang Show was cancelled at the last minute, and circumstances on refunds offered and amount not taken up?

There are no other assets noted as all costs associated with buying, building or maintaining costumes and props are expensed each year.

Bonfire. This is a fundraising activity jointly organised with Marple Girl Guiding. The group accounts for 2021/22 reflect our 50% interest. due to the pandemic the Bonfire was cancelled in 2021.

Plant sales. Sales of plants (purchased from a third party and sold for a profit) is a fund-raising activity. The activity spanned the financial year end.

Rent of Scout Headquarters . Receipts relates to the renting out of the headquarters building to third party lettings.

Recognition of Marple Scout Hut as an asset: The title absolute is held by THE SCOUT ASSOCIATION TRUST CORPORATION Gilwell Park, Chingford, London. The value of the asset has therefore not been included in the Marple Scout Association group accounts. The cost of maintenance and improvements to Marple Scout Hut are expensed in the Marple Group Accounts.

Donations received: This value relates to donations that were made directly into central Group funds. Other small donations made to Section accounts are included in the section receipts numbers.

Section Accounts. Each of the Scout units have a bank account in order to access an agreed level of funds and prepare a breakdown of receipts, payments and assets/liabilities for inclusion in the Group accounts.

Note in relation to each line of Expenditure

Gang Show . These figures are taken directly from the audited Gang Show accounts. See note on Gang Show above.

Bonfire. These figures are taken directly from the bonfire accounts. See note on Bonfire above. The bonfire did not take place in 2021 due to the pandemic.

Plant sales. As indicated above, this is a fund-raising activity, this figure represents the cost of the plants.

Donations Made. Donations have been made to support local groups.

Section Accounts. See note on section accounts above.

Group Running Cost. These relate to payments in relation to District fees and also training payments for the voluntary leaders. In 2021/2022 payments to the District were made as usual.

Note in relation to a reserves policy

The Group retain enough funding to cover one years running cost of the Group.

Bonfire:

The annual Brabyn’s Park Community Bonfire that takes place is managed by an experienced leadership team. Firework displays are organised and run by a professional firework display company and assistance and support are delivered by a number of the Group’s most experienced leaders. No bonfire took place in 2020. The accounts are prepared to 31[st] December 2020 and consolidated into the group accounts.

Gang show:

The Gang Show is managed by an experienced leadership team that have been involved in this activity for many years. The Gang Show accounts are independently prepared.

1ST MARPLE SCOUT GROUP CHARrrY NUMBER 512057 INCOME EXPENDITVRe ACCOUNT FOR THE PERIOD I APRIL 2021 to 31 WIRCH 2022 INCOME Members Subscrlptlons HMRCTax Claim Gan8 Show Bonfire Plant Sales Rent of Scout Hut tk)n4tion5 Received FundToising Bonk Interest The 8 units ofkoLrtin8 Grant 20,964.34 1,610.11 10,144.29 3,228.00 2,050.00 12,034.74 1,048.69 4.82 7,848.43 9.500.00 TOTAL INCOME FOR THE PERIOD 68.433.42 EXPENDITURE Stockport Dlstrl¢t Capitst10Th5 Gan8 Show Bonfire Plant Sales Donation5 made The 8 unit5 of koutlng Group runnlng Costs Scout Hut runnln8 Costs 9.045.QO 6.975.08 3.650.41 70. 13.450.03 1,632.13 19,858.74 TOTAL EXPENOMJRE FOR THE PERIOD 54.681.39 5URPLVS INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE 13,752.03 FINANCED BY.. OPENING BALANCE AT I APRIL 2021 ADD SURPLUS INCOME 88.948.03 13.752.03 CLOSING BALANCE AT31 MARCH 2022 102,7tsJ.06 I Ve examlr*d these accounts and the records on which they are based and certlfythat ihey constYte a true record of the same The Mclnnes Partnershlp Chartered Certified A¢¢ountants